Zod
| aliases = General Zod; Doomsday | film = | franchise = Superman film series DC Extended Universe | image = | notability = | type = | race = Kryptonian | gender = | base of operations = Krypton Planet Houston | known relatives = | status = | born = | died = 1980Superman film series version. 2013DC Extended Universe version. | 1st appearance = Superman: The Movie Man of Steel | final appearance = Superman II Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice DC Extended Universe version (as Doomsday) | actor = Terence Stamp Michael Shannon }} Zod is a fictional alien terrorist featured in comic books published by DC Comics. He has also appeared as a key antagonist in the original ''Superman'' film series as well as the DC Extended Universe. In the original series, General Zod was played by actor Terence Stamp. He made a brief appearance in the 1978 film Superman: The Movie, but took a more prominent role in the film's 1980 sequel Superman II. The character was re-imagined for modern audiences in Man of Steel in 2013 where he was played by actor Michael Shannon. This version of Zod also made a brief appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Biography Superman film series and Ursa.]] Zod is an alien Kryptonian from the planet Krypton. He was a member of the planet's military holding the rank of General. Zod and his confederates, Ursa and Non, fomented an insurrection against the governing Kryptonian council, but were captured. Their trial was presided over by a man named Jor-El, who sentenced all three of them to be banished to an interdimensional pocket realm called the Phantom Zone. Even as the three were cast into exile, Zod swore that he would avenge himself against Jor-El and his heirs. Imprisonment in the Phantom Zone turned out to be the best thing for General Zod as shortly after his sentencing, the planet Krypton exploded. Superman: The Movie; December 15th, 1978. Directed by Richard Donner.Superman II; June 19th, 1981. Richard Lester theatrical version. Years later, Jor-El's surviving son, Kal-El, grew up on Earth and became the Kryptonian hero known as Superman. While dealing with some terrorists in Paris, Superman took a hydrogen bomb and threw it into outer space. The bomb exploded and the shock waves reverberated outward, shattering the pyramid-shaped gateway into the Phantom Zone. Zod, Ursa and Non were free. They first arrived on Earth's moon where they killed a group of American astronauts. They then came to Earth where they each discovered that they now possessed superhuman strength, durability, the ability to fly and the power to fire laser beams out of their odds (except for Non, who seemed to have trouble with this latter power). With these new abilities, they quickly realized that Earth was ripe for conquest. They terrorized a small mid-western town, defaced Mount Rushmore, and then made a play for the nation's capital. After forcing the President of the United States to kneel in supplication before him, he learned of the existence of Earth's hero, Superman. Zod soon discovered that Superman was the son of Jor-El - the man responsible for their imprisonment and had survived Krypton's destruction. Through the course of events, Zod found himself entering an unlikely partnership with a scheming opportunist named Lex Luthor. Luthor, who had since learned the location of Superman's secret headquarters, the Fortress of Solitude, bargained with Zod by supplying him with the fort's coordinates. In exchange, Luthor only wanted a small piece of Zod's pending empire for himself - Australia. Zod issued a public challenge to Superman, commanding him to face him. At this time however, Superman was without the benefit of his alien-born Kryptonian abilities. When Superman failed to answer the challenge, Zod, Ursa and Non went to Metropolis and began terrorizing the staff at the Daily Planet, even going so far as to injure managing editor Perry White. Superman regained his powers just in the nick of time and flew to Metropolis where he engaged the Phantom Zoners in battle. As the fight raged on, Superman realized that they were causing too much risk to people and property. He flew off into the night, leading the Phantom Zoners to believe that he was retreating from battle, when in fact he was luring them to follow him. Zod, Ursa and Non flew off after Superman, bringing Lex Luthor and Lois Lane with them until they reached him at the Fortress of Solitude. Luthor told them about the chamber that could take away a Kryptonian's super-powers. Zod forced Superman to step into the chamber or else he would kill Lois Lane. What the villains didn't realize was that Superman had prepared himself for this tactic, and switched the processes of the machine, keeping him safe inside the chamber while the others were exposed to energy that took their powers away. Superman feigned defeat at first, even taking a moment to kneel before Zod. As he took his hand however, he employed his super-strength, crushing the bones in Zod's hand. He then picked his nemesis up with one hand and threw him against a wall, after which he slid down a shaft, possibly to his doom. Where Zod ended up, and whether the drop was long enough to be fatal is unknown. DC Extended Universe as General Zod in Man of Steel.]] Zod was the leader of Krypton's military apparatus. Like his friend Jor-El, he knew that Krypton's days were numbered. Despite numerous pleas with the Kryptonian council to evacuate the planet, Zod and his followers decided to take matters into their own hands. Zod sought to secure the genetic codes of the Kryptonian race, which he believed was a vital component for propagating the race on another world. This brought him into conflict with Jor-El and the two fought, with Zod ultimately killing him. Zod and his officers were tried and convicted of treason and banished to the Phantom Zone. Zod and the others survived the pending destruction of Krypton and remained trapped in the Phantom Zone for decades. They eventually escaped and intercepted a transmission beacon, which led them to Earth. Upon arriving on a planet revolving around a yellow sun, they found themselves suddenly developed enhanced physical strength, durability, stamina, the ability to fly and the power to fire beams of heat from their eyes. Zod knew that the genetic code to resurrect the Kryptonian race lied within Jor-El's surviving son, Kal-El, who had rocketed to Earth years earlier. Zod made a public demand for Kal-El to surrender himself, at which point, he and the others used alien technology to begin terraforming the planet. Kal-El, who had possessed the same abilities as Zod, fought against him. The two engaged in a massive battle in the city of Metropolis, which leveled major portions of the city, and toppling giant skyscrapers such as the Wayne Financial building. After a prolonged struggle, Kal-El decided that there was no way he could defeat his foe other than to take his life. As Zod prepared to kill his loved ones, Kal-El used his super-strength to break Zod's neck. Zod's body was recovered and quarantined inside of a military installation. Some eighteen months after the Battle of Metropolis, a young billionaire entrepreneur named Lex Luthor finagled his way into acquiring samples of Zod's DNA. Mixing it with blood from his own body, Luthor was then able to create a powerful monster dubbed "Doomsday", which he then set against Superman. Abilities :* Telekinesis: Telekinesis is the ability to psionically move objects with just the power of the mind. Sometimes this may be demonstrated through a visual effect such as a beam of light. One example of this power is when General Zod produced a telekinetic effect from his finger to lift a man several feet off the ground and then drop him. Notes & Trivia * The Donnerverse version of Zod was created by the director Richard Donner and the screenplay writers Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton and Tom Mankiewicz. * The DCEU version was created by the director Zack Snyder and the writers David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan, as based on the Donnerverse version. * Trademark phrase: "Kneel before Zod!" * Zod somehow got it in his head that the planet Earth was called Houston. * The Donner version of General Zod appeared in the 1988 Superman video game for the NES platform by Kemco. See also External Links * * * General Zod at Wikipedia * * * General Zod at the Superman Wiki References ---- Category:Characters Category:Superman: The Movie/Characters Category:Superman II/Characters Category:Man of Steel/Characters Category:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice/Characters Category:DC Extended Universe/Characters Category:Terence Stamp/Characters Category:Michael Shannon/Characters Category:Extraterrestrials Category:Terrorists Category:1980/Character deaths Category:2013/Character deaths Category:Famous characters Category:Characters with biographies